


The Challenges of Puberty

by setosdarkness



Series: OTP Collection - JuHaku [25]
Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: JuHaku Week, M/M, Prompt: Change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-11 05:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3316433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/setosdarkness/pseuds/setosdarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Judar hates puberty – curse those hormones for suddenly being very vocal and insistent about his long-overdue realization that he likes his childhood friend Hakuryuu. That's not even the worst part. What Judar hates the most about puberty is the fact that spending one summer away from each other is suddenly enough to turn the snot-nosed-shy-crybaby into a why-do-you-have-abs-too-stop-smirking-like-that-you-idiot. </p><p>[or: the one where Judar and Hakuryuu spend summer away from each other and Hakuryuu is suddenly too hot for Judar's comfort]</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Challenges of Puberty

•••

Judar _hates_ puberty.

No, it has nothing to do with voice going all squeaky – his is perfectly fine, thank you, he can still outlast everybody on the karaoke – or his body feeling all awkward due to the growth spurt – he's very graceful and beautiful, okay, he even joins that stupid king when doing exercises so that he can get that perfect washboard abs that's guaranteed to increase his attraction level by at least four times. Puberty has been very good to him, so his hatred for it doesn't come from any dissatisfaction with how he's currently enduring the popularity from a summer of awesomeness.

In any case, Judar _loathes_ puberty.

He's been enjoying his teenage years for two years now, but why did Hakuryuu have to follow his footsteps too?

Normally, he'd be overjoyed at having Hakuryuu follow him without much protest and passive-aggressiveness, but urgh.

Judar _hates_ it.

He hates his hormones for going overdrive at the sight of Hakuryuu's face – a sight that's always been in his vision since Hakuryuu was a snot-nosed four-year-old kid. He hates his body for going weak-kneed at the sound of Hakuryuu's voice – a sound that's always been slightly high-pitched due to his inherent restrained cheerfulness and innocence. He hates his heart for refusing to stay under control at the touch of Hakuryuu's hand – a feeling that's always been present since they were kids who enjoyed hanging out and generally wreaking havoc together (or okay fine, it's Judar who does the havoc-wreaking and Hakuryuu just sort of hangs around in equal parts fascination at the trainwreck and teary-eyed disapproval at the possibility of doing something naughty that will get Judar scolded and Hakuryuu guilt-tripped into joining the punishment with him).

He hates, hates, hates how he's suddenly the _old hag_ in the face of the _stupid king_ – all pink-cheeked, stuttered words and awkward laughter.

For a moment, he thinks of strangling the _old crone_ for whisking Hakuryuu's entire family away to some far-away country, because apparently spending summer vacation in the neighborhood just isn't elitist enough. It was just one summer – and no, Judar so did not get lonely – how could he, when Hakuryuu is just one expensive phone call or one Skype call away. He didn't resent not being invited, though he does somehow feel cheated for being so blindsided by Hakuryuu's sudden transformation from teary-eyed shy crybaby to a _what the fucking hell this cannot be real why does he have abs now why does he smirk now why oh why_.

And Hakuryuu's all polite and stuff, seemingly oblivious to his sudden upgrade to hotness and this just isn't fair.

To Judar's knowledge, Hakuryuu hasn't ever looked at him with stars in his eyes, so he must look like a fucking idiot being all doe-eyed while looking at the prim-and-proper Hakuryuu.

So unfair.

And the worst thing is—Judar now feels the tiniest bit awkward when he's near Hakuryuu, like he's being slowly, sweetly, drowned and suffocated all at once by Hakuryuu's presence. That's just unacceptable—he's always been fond of invading Hakuryuu's personal space whether or not it's appropriate, freely touching and getting close to Hakuryuu without regard for their surroundings. This lingering tension and awkwardness are preventing Judar from doing treating Hakuryuu as usual—though he does pretend to the best of his ability.

Like now.

For some reason that Judar can't quite fathom, Hakuryuu is feeding him peaches, while they're both seated close together on a four-seater couch.

He remembers something about a _movie night_ and he thinks he should remember something about how _shorty_ , _idiot blond_ and _muscle girl_ are supposed to be here too. His mind is too fried just with Hakuryuu's closeness and urgh his stupid face that shouldn't look this hot, especially since he has some eyebags if he looks closely, and urgh—

So Hakuryuu is feeding him peaches, handing him slices of his favorite fruit, feeding him by pressing his fingers and the peach slices directly to his lips and he can _taste_ the peach but he thinks he's not just being delusional when he thinks he can also taste the pad of Hakuryuu's fingers.

There's a movie onscreen—something about Solomon and the 72 demons, an action fantasy that should be right up Judar's alley and should hold his whimsical interest for at least an hour, but no, he's more hyper-aware of how bony Hakuryuu's knee is and how rough Hakuryuu's fingertips feel against his lips and how his eyes look particularly intense under the dimmed light of Hakuryuu's huge-ass bedroom (why are they here again, why did Hakuryuu have to get a television set inside his room, now Judar would never want to leave here, especially since his trip abroad had also allowed him to buy lots of awesome games that Judar can't wait to try—).

Focus, Judar, focus.

But then again, he's _focused_ , just not on what he should be focusing on.

He pulls his eyes away from trying to stare at Hakuryuu from his peripheral vision. His eyes land on the movie, _oh is that the old crone, eh why are they watching a movie with her as the actress, wow she's really crazy on that scene there_ , but it only lasts for two minutes, before his body is overcome by the urge to look at Hakuryuu now after one summer of puberty and mourning the loss of the crybaby Hakuryuu that he can tease and tease without feeling like he'd like to tease him using _other ways_ that will make more tears spring to his eyes.

(He also hates the stupid king for lending him low-quality porn mags that have too much breasts for his comfort that he's now more than just sufficiently scarred for life and would love to never see another pair of those ever again.)

(He hates how he knows that the stupid king probably only threw those magazines his way because his snake-eyed boyfriend/lackey's now doing a thorough inspection of his room almost every day.)

(Now he can't stop imagining untouchable Hakuryuu passive-aggressively allowing him to tie him up, tease him until he's straightforwardly begging him to release him. Or maybe even have Hakuryuu show his more stubborn and assertive side, pulling at Judar's hair and forcing him to admit that he's always been in love with Hakuryuu and then Hakuryuu would say that that's fine because he's also always been in l—)

 _Focus_.

Judar takes a deep breath and almost chokes when Hakuryuu leans sideways and rests his head on his left shoulder.

 _Why is this happening to him_.

Judar has done this to Hakuryuu countless times, whenever Hakuryuu chooses a movie that has a lot of talking and strategizing and more talking, but to be on the receiving end is just—!

Is this payback for some great sin that he has done in his past life?!

Hakuryuu has always been reserved when it comes to physical contact – though he's always allowed Judar to treat him like a living pillow – so it's both empowering and horrifying whenever he willingly initiates physical contact.

Judar thinks he should start investing in horoscopes or something about his destiny, so he can be more prepared for moments like these. He feels like he's about have a heart attack and he's too pretty to die young.

Hakuryuu shifts and his right hand falls on top of Judar's left knee.

Another shift and Hakuryuu's hand inches higher, landing on Judar's left thigh.

Judar hates puberty so, so, so much—

"—and here I thought you understand _everything_ about me," Hakuryuu breathlessly comments and instead of disappointment, there's only fond amusement there.

Judar blinks and regretfully tries to move away, just so he can watch Hakuryuu's expression to gauge him better. There's a stab of pain somewhere on his chest, almost like Hakuryuu has stabbed him with an actual sword, at the sound of Hakuryuu's words. Judar has always been proud of his ability to completely understand everything Hakuryuu says or doesn't say, but that's just one more thing that he hates about this puberty business – because suddenly, Hakuryuu's words and actions have this mysterious air over them, and Judar's constantly second-guessing what Hakuryuu thinks or how he'd act.

"…I do." Judar clears his throat. "I _did_." His voice still doesn't come out right. "I want to."

"It's not like you to not be confident," Hakuryuu comments quietly, even as he allows himself to shift to accommodate Judar's motions to have them face each other, movie forgotten, knees still touching, though Judar's right foot is flat on the carpeted floor. "Is this getting too much for you to handle, Judar?"

 _What do you mean by this_.

Judar doesn't say or ask.

He thinks he knows.

He should know.

But Hakuryuu is—is somehow so different and he doesn't want to be wrong about him for the first time.

"It's not," Judar instinctively replies, not liking the thought of being underestimated by anyone, especially if it's Hakuryuu, even if there's still no real disappointment and just fond amusement in his tone.

"Hmm."

Then Hakuryuu _smiles_.

The cheeky bastard just _smiles_ at him, like he _knows_ and he's counting on making Judar feel all _tingly_ and _flustered_ and _happy_.

Judar hates, hates, hates how puberty has somehow flipped their roles of him being the one who enjoys making Hakuryuu flustered and Hakuryuu being all blushing but accepting of his teasing. And he hates, hates, hates himself even more for wanting _more_ of this change, as though he's wanted this from the start.

"What am I thinking about now, Judar?" Hakuryuu asks, voice pitched low, as he moves the now-empty bowl of peaches to the coffee table nearby, before he raises both of his hands and places them on his cheeks. His hands are cold and clammy with the remaining juice from the peach slices and probably also from his own nervousness. Judar swallows, his heart thudding in a mixture of comprehension and denial of said comprehension.

"Hakuryuu—"

Hakuryuu's handsome smile stays, grows the slightest bit larger. Hakuryuu leans in closer, kneeling and practically crawling towards his lap. "How about now?"

Judar's voice doesn't want to come out and Hakuryuu is _still_ advancing towards him. Since they are idiots who wanted to stay cramped on one side of the couch earlier, the arm rest is still so far away from Judar's body that when he leans back slightly, Hakuryuu all but pounces on him and shoves him down. His back hits the couch with a thump but he can't even bring himself to care about how nobody dares to wrestle around with him like this aside from Hakuryuu.

"I—you're—"

"How about now?" Hakuryuu's eyes are bright as he half-slouches over Judar's chest, his left hand still on Judar's cheek, while his right hand is now instead splayed on top of his racing heart. "Tell me what I'm thinking about now."

Judar doesn't want to be wrong about Hakuryuu.

But he swallows his irrational fear and returns Hakuryuu's burning stare.

"You want me to make the first move."

"…Hmm." Hakuryuu smiles wider and makes a small motion with his head, as though to command him to continue, his hand tilting Judar's chin up just as he slowly leans down.

"And you want to just follow my lead."

"Hmm."

"…and that's… fine with you."

"It is," Hakuryuu agrees with a gentle hum, their faces mere inches from each other. "Though you're a bit slow, Judar."

"…Slow?! You were _gone_ for a whole _month_!"

Hakuryuu laughs against his lips, warm puffs of air as they kiss languidly, with the relief of years of waiting that has finally paid off and the confidence that their moment will last forever.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, you know," Hakuryuu pinches Judar's cheek, as though to punish him for that.

"For a long time?! Hakuryuu do you mean—"

Hakuryuu pinches his cheek again, smirking at the other's exaggerated puffing at the pain. "Figure it out on your own. You understand me completely, right?"

Then Hakuryuu smiles at him again, looking a hundred times more handsome than ever.

And Judar understands.

He doesn't hate puberty that much after all.

(…Of course, Judar takes that back when after five minutes of more kissing, Hakuryuu teasingly laughs at him for getting a boner so easily, but urgh. Damn hormones.)

(And because he understands Hakuryuu so well, he also graciously doesn't mention that Hakuryuu isn't any different.)

••• **end**

**Author's Note:**

> \- These dorks!!!  
> \- This is meant to hint as a reincarnation AU, hence the many references/callbacks, but it's focused on the fluffy part, so. Ehhhh.


End file.
